Northampton clown no match for Brazil’s and Ocala’s finest

Published: Friday, September 20, 2013 at 6:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Thursday, September 19, 2013 at 4:56 p.m.

I was having a beer one night with Chad Taylor, one of the founders of Ocala's Insomniac Theatre and, simply, one of the most amusing people in town. How amusing? Well, for one, Chad's a clown. I mean a real clown, once a card-carrying member of the Southeast Clown Association.

"I haven't renewed in forever," he noted, which is clown speak for "I still have red noses in kitchen drawers."

I was enthralled with the art of clowning, especially as described from the inside. At one point, I asked Chad if he owned a rubber chicken.

He stared at me, baffled and boring holes into a skull thick enough to offer such a question.

A second or two passed.

"Do I own a rubber chicken?" he slowly repeated. More seconds passed. "How many do you want?"

I recite this anecdote as a defense of clowns. Chad, you see, is a good clown, one who sees funny as an art. Wearing the nose is a privilege, and, in a seriousness rare to Chad Taylor, he maintains his brethren do not make their clown names public when not in uniform.

"There's a certain amount of separation needed," he noted. "Otherwise kids don't see the clown, they see the person."

Yes, folks, there are good clowns indeed.

Except in Northampton, England, where a clown is making news by standing on street corners staring and waving at people. He is not a happy-go-lucky clown but more the terrifying type similar to Pennywise in Stephen King's "It."

So imagine, in this world filled with clowns-gone-south, a creepy clown on a corner locked on to your presence, just waving and staring, waving and staring.

Naturally, he's become an Internet sensation. As of this writing, the new Spot the Northampton Clown Facebook page has 130,800 likes (it increased by 400 in the time it took to write this column; no kidding). People post and seek out cellphone photos of him.

"I just want to amuse people," the anonymous clown told the Northampton Chronicle & Echo in an "exclusive" interview. "Most people enjoy being a bit freaked out, and then they can laugh about it afterwards."

I, personally, am amused. I am also more than 4,000 miles away from Northampton. I would not be as amused if Creepy Clown Guy was standing next to me, staring silently as I pluck on this keyboard.

What fascinates me about this story is how the culture of clowns has shifted. Here is a profession started solely to make innocent humans smile. Yet many people are grade-A terrified of clowns, even the sweet, pure-hearted clowns who simply want to paint happiness on your cheek.

This fear has become big business, actually. The Northampton clown is right: Some people love to be scared. Thus, there is a popular genre of horror clowns that festers in movies and books and theme parks.

Incidentally, another subset of clowns also made international news this week: NPR on Wednesday reported on Brazil's traffic clowns whose job is to stand along the road and remind motorists to buckle up, slow down and not drink and drive. In full makeup and costumes, they gesture, cheerfully shout and occasionally honk at motorists, according NPR sources Uncle Honk and Fom Fom in Olinda.

So I contend there are still good clowns in this crazy world. I also contend Ocala drivers could use a few Uncle Honks. If the city council is interested, I know a local guy with plenty of rubber chickens.

<p>I was having a beer one night with Chad Taylor, one of the founders of Ocala's Insomniac Theatre and, simply, one of the most amusing people in town. How amusing? Well, for one, Chad's a clown. I mean a real clown, once a card-carrying member of the Southeast Clown Association.</p><p>"I haven't renewed in forever," he noted, which is clown speak for "I still have red noses in kitchen drawers."</p><p>I was enthralled with the art of clowning, especially as described from the inside. At one point, I asked Chad if he owned a rubber chicken.</p><p>He stared at me, baffled and boring holes into a skull thick enough to offer such a question.</p><p>A second or two passed.</p><p>"Do I own a rubber chicken?" he slowly repeated. More seconds passed. "How many do you want?"</p><p>I recite this anecdote as a defense of clowns. Chad, you see, is a good clown, one who sees funny as an art. Wearing the nose is a privilege, and, in a seriousness rare to Chad Taylor, he maintains his brethren do not make their clown names public when not in uniform.</p><p>"There's a certain amount of separation needed," he noted. "Otherwise kids don't see the clown, they see the person."</p><p>Yes, folks, there are good clowns indeed.</p><p>Except in Northampton, England, where a clown is making news by standing on street corners staring and waving at people. He is not a happy-go-lucky clown but more the terrifying type similar to Pennywise in Stephen King's "It."</p><p>So imagine, in this world filled with clowns-gone-south, a creepy clown on a corner locked on to your presence, just waving and staring, waving and staring.</p><p>Naturally, he's become an Internet sensation. As of this writing, the new Spot the Northampton Clown Facebook page has 130,800 likes (it increased by 400 in the time it took to write this column; no kidding). People post and seek out cellphone photos of him.</p><p>"I just want to amuse people," the anonymous clown told the Northampton Chronicle & Echo in an "exclusive" interview. "Most people enjoy being a bit freaked out, and then they can laugh about it afterwards."</p><p>I, personally, am amused. I am also more than 4,000 miles away from Northampton. I would not be as amused if Creepy Clown Guy was standing next to me, staring silently as I pluck on this keyboard.</p><p>What fascinates me about this story is how the culture of clowns has shifted. Here is a profession started solely to make innocent humans smile. Yet many people are grade-A terrified of clowns, even the sweet, pure-hearted clowns who simply want to paint happiness on your cheek.</p><p>This fear has become big business, actually. The Northampton clown is right: Some people love to be scared. Thus, there is a popular genre of horror clowns that festers in movies and books and theme parks.</p><p>Incidentally, another subset of clowns also made international news this week: NPR on Wednesday reported on Brazil's traffic clowns whose job is to stand along the road and remind motorists to buckle up, slow down and not drink and drive. In full makeup and costumes, they gesture, cheerfully shout and occasionally honk at motorists, according NPR sources Uncle Honk and Fom Fom in Olinda.</p><p>So I contend there are still good clowns in this crazy world. I also contend Ocala drivers could use a few Uncle Honks. If the city council is interested, I know a local guy with plenty of rubber chickens.</p><p><i>Contact Entertainment Editor Dave Schlenker at 867-4120 or go@starbanner.com.</i></p>